Taking the Cardinals to the World Series in his second season as manager has earned Mike Matheny a three-year contract extension, the team announced at a press conference.

Matheny had zero managing experience when he took over for future Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, but the Cardinals are 185-139 in his two seasons at the helm and advanced past the first round of the playoffs both times.

This upcoming season would have been the final year on his original contract. His new deal will tack on three years to that, running through 2017.